Chapter 611: Interception
Editor: Atlas Studios

Qi Haoran did not speak to Fan Zijin for the next three days. Initially, Fan Zijin did not mind, but the key was that he was too busy to pay attention to Qi Haoran.

After sulking for the entire day, Qi Haoran saw that no one came to coax him. So for the next two days, he deliberately walked past Fan Zijin with a straight face every morning and night. In addition, he even deliberately snorted to express his anger.

The corners of Fan Zijin’s lips twitched. He propped his face up and pondered if he had gone overboard.

Just as he instructed Yanmo to search for a good saber and horse, Mu Yangling sent someone to deliver a letter informing them they would arrive in Qiannan tomorrow.

Fan Zijin immediately changed his words. “There’s no need to look for the saber and horse anymore. We’ll go out of the city to pick them up tomorrow.” Since Mu Yangling had already arrived, Qi Haoran’s anger must have dissipated. In that case, he could save the money. Money was tight at the moment, so it was prudent to save as much as they could.

As expected, Qi Haoran came excitedly to look for Fan Zijin the next day to go out of the city to pick Mu Yangling up. Seeing that he was dressed in new clothes and had even taken a shower, Fan Zijin immediately nodded in satisfaction. He had tolerated the smell of sweat exuding from Qi Haoran’s body for a long time.

“You’re not angry with me anymore?” Fan Zijin asked as he rode on his horse.

Qi Haoran glared at him. “We’re brothers. When have I ever been angry with you?”

“But Zijin,” Qi Haoran said with a slightly stern expression, “don’t provoke me with the matter of taking in concubines in the future. What if Ah Ling misunderstands?”

“Look at how useless you are.” Fan Zijin rolled his eyes at him, but he was sighing in his heart. This was what love was supposed to be like. In the case of his mother, she was too subservient and the love had metamorphosed.

Before Fan Zijin could finish sighing, Xiao Ting galloped over on his horse and shouted, “Not good, not good, General, not good.”

Fan Zijin turned to Qi Haoran and said, “How did Fei Bai teach him? He’s been by his side for two months, but he hasn’t taught him anything.”

Xiao Ting was Qi Haoran’s new servant, hired because Fei Bai had too many things to deal with now to attend to all of Qi Haoran’s personal matters. Moreover, Qi Haoran was not used to using servant girls, so he chose a male servant to take over some of Fei Bai’s duties. During this period of time, Fei Bai had been teaching him.

Qi Haoran said nonchalantly, “He’s still young. He’ll be fine in a few years.”

Xiao Ting was only 13 years old this year and was indeed considered young. However, Fan Zijin felt that Qi Haoran was too forgiving to his servants. When Yanmo was 13 years old, he already dared to come to the north to serve him.

In just one sentence, Xiao Ting had already galloped to Qi Haoran. Before they could ask, he quickly reported, “General, the Princess Consort was picked up by someone sent by Chief Ji’an.”

Qi Haoran’s expression changed and he asked, “Why did the Princess Consort leave with them? Where’s Fei Bai?”

Xiao Ting wanted to cry but had no tears. “There were too many of them. Her Highness was afraid of conflict, so she left with them. Fei Bai stayed by her side to serve her.”

Fan Zijin hurriedly stopped Qi Haoran, who was about to explode, and asked, “What did she say before she left?”

“She only said that she was going to be a guest and asked the general to pick her up.” Xiao Ting paused and said, “Her Highness did not let the convoy follow her. There were only two carriages and they were escorted by our guards and the imperial guards.”

Fan Zijin heaved a sigh of relief and pulled Qi Haoran back. “Ah Ling knows her limits. She left behind all the burdens, but she brought along the guards and imperial guards. She’ll be fine.”

Qi Haoran’s eyes were a little red as he said hatefully, “If anything happens to Ah Ling and the child, I won’t let the Miao stockade off.”

At this moment, Ji’an was throwing a tantrum at his daughter, Jinhua. “Who asked you to bring the Princess Consort here?”

Jinhua pouted and said, “I just wanted to see what kind of person she is. Why can she marry the lord and I can’t? Father, quickly tell her to leave the lord. The lord is a dragon among men. Only I am fit to be with a man like him.”

Ji’an was so angry that he fell backward. He turned to her wife, Alu, and shouted, “Look at your daughter. If we get into a conflict with the Han people because of this, Jinhua will have to die!”

Alu’s face turned slightly pale as she explained, “Jinhua doesn’t understand the rules of the Han people. In our Miao stockade, men and women are free to marry each other, and women here snatch their husbands with their own abilities. She just can’t stand the fact that His Highness married a woman he doesn’t love because of the matchmaker’s words…”

“How do you know that he doesn’t love her?” Ji’an roared. “What do you know? The Prince and the Princess Consort are childhood sweethearts. I’ve already asked around. He dotes on this wife very much. Otherwise, I would have long thought of a way to make him take Jinhua as his concubine.”

Jinhua’s eyes reddened as she shouted, “I’m not going to be a concubine.”

“You can’t be his concubine even if you want to.” Ji’an snapped angrily, “The lord made a vow in the previous dynasty that he would have just this one wife—the current Princess Consort—in this lifetime. He won’t take in a concubine or a mistress.”

He turned around and instructed the guards beside him to guard Jinhua. “You’d better hope that Her Highness will be easy to talk to. Otherwise, watch how I deal with you.”

With that, Ji’an hurriedly went to welcome Mu Yangling.

Mu Yangling’s carriage entered the Miao stockade directly. Curious, she opened the curtain a crack and observed the route and scenery outside. When she turned around and saw Little Madam Xia’s uneasy expression, she patted her hand and said with a smile, “It’s fine. Haoran and Cousin should be here soon.”

Little Madam Xia frowned slightly and asked, “Why did the chief of the Miao stockade invite us here? We’re just women.”

Mu Yangling said with a light smile, “No matter what, the Miao stockade will not want to go to war with the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court’s 200,000-strong army is stationed in Qiannan.”

Seeing that Mu Yangling was certain, Little Madam Xia felt a little relieved. She also started to look outside curiously. Seeing that the Miao stockade women’s clothes were a little revealing, she blushed slightly and said in a low voice, “This, this is too indecent.”

Mu Yangling replied with a smile, “We just have different customs.”

Most of the men in the Miao stockade were wearing short coats, some of them even walking on the road bare-chested. Although the women were more covered up, there were also some whose arms and calves were exposed. To the Han people, this was very indecent, but Mu Yangling knew that this was not just the custom of the Miao stockade, but also the result of poverty.

Without enough fabric, they could only wear such clothes.

Great Zhou had always imposed heavy taxes on the Miao stockade, and the Great Qi’s taxes on the Miao stockade had yet to be set.

The carriage passed through the Miao stockade street and arrived at a gate. Seeing a middle-aged man standing in front of her with a smile, Mu Yangling was a little puzzled. Fei Bai reported from outside, “Your Highness, Chief Ji’an has personally come to welcome you.”

When Mu Yangling got off the carriage with Little Bear in her arms, Ji’an welcomed her with a smile. “Your Highness, it’s really an honor to have you visit my humble abode.”

Mu Yangling said with a smile, “Chief Ji’an speaks Mandarin so well.”

Ji’an looked at the Princess Consort who was about the same age as his eldest daughter and said embarrassedly, “I only know this sentence. I remembered it after hearing Military Advisor Fan say it at our previous meeting.”

Mu Yangling didn’t expect Chief Ji’an to be so honest. Upon hearing this, she said with a smile, “Language is meant to be continuously learned from each other. Seeing how quickly you learn, Chief Ji’an must be a capable and hardworking person.”